Life As It Is
by Beckette
Summary: Yuffie, a freshman in high school, gets thrown in a mixture of hate, fear, and adventure when she meets her new friends Squall, Riku, Sora, Kairi, Aerith, Cloud, and Sorina(OOC). Pairings: LY, CA, SK, ROCC. AU. CHAPTER 6 UP!
1. The Assignment

Life As It Is  
  
Chapter 1 – The Assignment  
  
A/N: So... um... how do I start... clears throat Hi. Um... this fic I'm writing is going to be mainly from Yuffie's point of view because she's so cool. The setting: college (duh!) The cast: KH gang, minus all the bad guys, the Disney characters (sorry Goofy), Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, and plus Sephiroph, and random characters I made up. So... um... this is going to be mainly squiffie 'cause it's my favorite pairing and C/A, S/K, and Riku/Some random character I haven't thought of yet. Riku obviously needs someone 'cause he's so cute... so... um... that's it. Now read. grins Oh, and I made Kairi one year younger than Aerith and Yuffie, but she's in college because she's so smart. Aerith is 21, Yuffie is 20, and Kairi is 19. Sora is 19, Riku is 20, Cloud is 22, and Squall... Leon... (whatever) is 25.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!! actually... I own this storyline and whatever characters I make up... and this fanfic account... looks in pocket and this crumbled up candy wrapper... want it? I'll trade it for squaresoft! No? Well, I guess that's why this disclaimer is here...  
  
"Good bye home, hello dorm!" shouted Yuffie excitedly to her new roommates.  
  
"Erm... hi." said Kairi cautiously, running a hair through her red, short hair. "Hi" said Aerith in a soft, sing-songy voice, adjusting her pink dress before sitting down on a large, pink futon. "So, have you guys unpacked yet?" asked Yuffie. "Yeah," Kairi replied, bored. "Me too" Aerith said. "Great! You guys can help me unpack!" Yuffie happily squealed. Her roommates just stared at her. "Um... sure... I guess..." Kairi said quietly after a minute. "Yeah, let's go" said Aerith, picking up one of Yuffie's bags. "You guys are awesome!" Yuffie said happily. "Yeah, sure..." said Kairi, taking a picture frame and putting it at the bed end. "No! It goes there!" yelped Yuffie. After a few more attempts by Kairi and Aerith to help her unpacked, they gave up and sat on her bed, watching her unpack everything else. "There! Perfect!" Yuffie said in her normal, hyper voice, "Lets get lunch!"  
  
"We'll take my car" said Aerith, "So where do you guys want to go?" For once, Yuffie was silent. "How about McDonalds? Its Cheeseburger day and I'm almost broke." said Kairi. "I'm starving. Any place is good for me!" said Yuffie. Aerith parked and they walked in, grabbing a table next to a window. Yuffie looked out the window. "Hey, are those people from our school too?" asked Yuffie, pointing at a couple of guys also walking towards McDonalds. Kairi just shrugged, but Aerith said, "Yeah. I told them to come. I hope you don't mind." "No! Not at all!" Kairi and Yuffie both said. Soon they heard the jingle of the bells as the door opened and the four guys walked in. "Hi Aerith" said Cloud shyly. "Hi Cloud. Meet my new roommates. That's Kairi and that's Yuffie." said Aerith. A chorus of "hi"s erupted. Aerith waited until it ended. Pointing to the guys, she said, "That's Cloud, Leon, Sora, and Riku". "Gawd Sora's cute" Kairi whispered to Yuffie. "oooo!" whispered Yuffie loudly to Kairi, "Aerith can set you two up!" "Shut up!" Kairi almost shouted to Yuffie, "What if he has a girlfriend?" she asked fearfully, voice lower. The guys sat down. "So what classes do you have this year?" asked Sora, looking at Kairi. She yelped and looked at Yuffie for help. Grabbing her schedule, Yuffie said, "She seems to want to be an English major. She's also taking... um... why did you scribble hearts that say K and S all over your schedule, Kairi?" Kairi started blushing furiously, but then the food arrived. Biting in her cheeseburger hungrily and a bit savagely, Yuffie was making quite a mess. Yuffie noticed them staring at her, wiped her face off and asked innocently, "What?" "Oh nothing, just watching a what looks like a perfectly angelic girl attacking her hamburger." said Leon sarcastically. "Squall!" reprimanded Aerith. "Yeah!" Cloud immediately said after. "First, it's NOT a hamburger! It's a cheeseburger. And second, who's Squall?" Leon was glaring daggers at Aerith, who was blushing. Cloud, in turn, was trying to glare daggers at Leon for glaring daggers at Aerith. "Um... he is" Sora said, pointing at Leon. "So you're Leon AND Squall? How cool! But I like Squall better." Yuffie said, grinning evilly. Leon was still glaring daggers at Aerith. "Children, children. Please stop glaring daggers at each other." said Riku in a cool, relaxed but slightly obnoxious sort of a way. Leon dropped his head and started eating his cheeseburger. After a few moments of silence, Riku stated, "It's almost 2. We need to get to school to attend the assembly." All stood up, and Yuffie hurriedly got to Aerith's pink Beatle (the car). In the car, Kairi could only gabble about how cute Sora looked. Aerith stared at her (during a red light, of course), "Do you want me to set you two up or anything?" she asked. "No! No way! Does he have a girlfriend?" Kairi quickly responded. "Nah," Aerith replied. "What's with Squall?" asked Yuffie. "Both his parents died. He was sent into a military orphanage, and you know how the military is. After he got out, he changed his name, and tried to forget his past. We knew him before, so that's why we sometimes slip and calls him Squall. He's a bit depressed and a loner." explained Aerith. By this time they had arrived back at the school and entered the auditorium. Cloud immediately sat next to Aerith, Kairi sat next to Sora, and Yuffie got stuck between Leon and Riku. The principal droned about how the school worked, and the "mission" of the school. Aerith was listening intently, while Yuffie dozed off, leaning her head on Leon's shoulder. "Wake up, Yuffie" said Leon, tapping on her shoulder. "Okay, Squall" said Yuffie, yawning and getting up. "It's Leon." Leon replied through gritted teeth. "Whatever, Squall" retorted Yuffie. Leon glared daggers at her, but said nothing.  
  
"So where are we going out to eat?" asked Yuffie, back in their dorm. Aerith and Kairi looked uncomfortable, gazing shyly at her. "Um..." Aerith said. "We're going on a double date" Kairi said in a rush. "We're sorry, Yuffie." Aerith said. "HOW COULD YOU PLAN A DOUBLE DATE WITHOUT ME???!!!" screamed Yuffie. "Well... you were sleeping... so..." Aerith began to mumble. "Argh I can't BELIEVE you people" and with that Yuffie ran to her room.  
  
Yuffie heard a knock on her door. It was Aerith. "Yuffie, please don't be mad. You didn't have a date... so..." Yuffie ignored her. "Yuffie..." Aerith began again. "Why don't you just leave me alone?" screamed Yuffie, "I better go to sleep, 'cause I have CLASS tomorrow" "Yuffie... I'll check on you tomorrow than... sweet dreams..."  
  
Yuffie felt awful. Why couldn't she just let Kairi and Aerith go on a double date without her? Aerith was right, she DIDN'T have a date. Kairi and Aerith were the only friends she had and now she just blew it. She decided to call her mom, because her mom always knew what to do. "Hey mom?" Yuffie mumbled. "What is it honey? Are you okay?" her mom asked, concerned. "I just got mad at my two newest friends at college for going on a double date without me." Yuffie started, and soon spilled the whole day out to her mom. "Aw poor baby. Don't worry, you'll find a boyfriend soon. As for your friends, I suggest you writing a note apologizing. Remember what you learned from those Life Skill books in middle school? And use that new stationary I bought you!" her mom replied. "Okay mommy. Thanks a lot!" Yuffie replied. Write a note... write a note... Yuffie sat down before her table and grabbed the new pack of paper her mom bought her. "Dear Aerith and Kairi". 'No, that seems too formal' Yuffie though, and tore it up. "Dear friends..." After a couple more balls of crunched up paper, she proudly put it on the kitchen counter.  
  
"Dear friends,  
I hope I did not hurt your feelings much today. I was angry at first, but I understand now. You guys have your own life too; I can't just come in a do it my way. That's just selfish. I hope you understand.  
  
Your friend,  
Yuffie  
  
P.S. Come to my room and tell me what happened! Wake me up if you have to.  
  
"Wow, I never thought she'll apologize" said Kairi. "Yeah, she's a sweet girl. Well, want to go wake her up?" asked Aerith, but Kairi was already racing to Yuffie's room. "YUFFIE!!! We're back!" screamed Kairi, but Yuffie just lay there. "OH MY GOD. AERITH HURRY UP AND COME HERE!!!" Kairi shrieked. Aerith came running. "What happened?" she asked. "Is she dead?" Kairi whispered fearfully. "No, of course not! See her breathing? She's just sleeping." and with that, Yuffie rolled on her back. "Wow she's a really deep sleeper" said Kairi. "Hey look, there's a note" said Aerith.  
  
"P.P.S. You need to play "I love you" from that Barney show to get me to wake up. It's on my desk. Just click on the purple button. I hate that song."  
  
Kairi walked over, turned on the music, and Yuffie sprang up, ran over, and turned it off. "So, you guys forgive me?" asked Yuffie shyly. "If we didn't why would we be here?" asked Kairi. Aerith just gave her a hug. "So, what happened?" asked Yuffie eagerly. Kairi launched in the great aspects of Sora, like how nice he is, while Aerith chatted away about how good Cloud was looking. "Aw guys, you're making me jealous!" Yuffie said, laughing. "Well, as you said, we do have class tomorrow and it's already 11. See you tomorrow Yuffie and Kairi!" said Aerith. "Yeah, night you all!" replied Kairi. "Night..." Yuffie replied sleepily, and quickly dozed off.  
  
"I love you, you love me," sang Yuffie's alarm clock. It was already 6 a.m. She got up, threw on some clothes, and ran out the door. Aerith was already up and made French toast for everyone. "So, what's your first class?" asked Kairi. "English with Ingles" replied Yuffie. "Me too!" replied Kairi happily. "Wow, this must be a miracle or something, but I have Ingles too!" said Aerith. They hurried off to English. Yuffie sat down beside Aerith and Kairi. "Hey Kairi" said a voice. "Oh my god! Hi Sora!" Kairi shrieked, hugging him. Apparently, all of the guys also had English with Mrs. Ingles. "That's enough!" said the teacher, "I shall take role now". After taking role, she sat down, and said, "My name is Mrs. Ingles. I teach literature arts. We will focus on creative writing this year. Your first assignment will actually be year long. You will keep a diary for me. I will not check it, but at the end of the year you will have an essay on what you think life was like. The diary will just help you jog your memory. Feel free to write about what you wish had happened, how you felt, and what you feel about life in general. Now, write a paragraph on what you think life is. You have one hour."  
  
"I believe life is unfair." Yuffie wrote, "In a perfect life, I would have a loving boyfriend who cares about me. I would be smart, intelligent, and amaze people by my intelligence. I would be rich and carefree, and live in a huge house. I would be graceful, not the klutzy person I am. I would also have a cat, and a mom who isn't allergic to cats. What I like about life, though, are my new friends Aerith, Kairi, and my old friends too."  
  
"Looks like someone hates life, eh?" someone said. It was Squall. He was looking at her paper! "How could you?" Yuffie asked, "I don't look at YOUR paper" "I was just trying to get you to stop writing. The bell rang, but apparently someone is so klutzy that she didn't notice" replied Squall. "Oh." and with that Yuffie ran off to her next class.  
  
A/N: So how was it? Any review is good... suggestions... I'm new at this so... I need a lot more improvement. As far as flames go... I'll accept them as a "learning opportunity", or most likely, ignore them. shudders Well I hope you liked it. If I get reviews at least one review (flames don't count!) I'll write more. When an author gets no reviews she gets a bit discouraged. cries Well review! And I'm sorry if this is a bit short... 


	2. Shattered Dreams

Life As It Is  
  
Chapter 2 – Shattered Dreams  
  
A/N: I got a review! ((dances around happily)) On with the story! Oh, and I hope the spacing is right this time...  
  
Disclaimer: I am a poor author in need of reviews and money. Of COURSE I own Kingdom Hearts! ((rolls eyes)).  
  
ria-aeon-hunter: Glad you like it! You are so sweet. Here's the next part.  
  
Yuffie wearily opened the door to her dorm. After her first day of school, all she wanted to do was sleep, but her teachers had given her homework. 'What did I ever do to them?' she thought. "Hi Yuffie!" Aerith sang from the kitchen as soon as Yuffie opened the door. "Hi Aerith, and Kairi!" Yuffie replied, spirits lightening. Kairi looked up from her Girl's Life magazine and said, "Hey Yuf."  
  
"Watcha doing?" asked Yuffie.  
  
"Taking a quiz" replied Kairi, busily circling her answers. Yuffie looked over her shoulder, reading the title, "How to tell if a guy likes you". Pictures of Squall flashed in her head. 'No! Why am I thinking of HIM?' she thought, but was stopped when Kairi jumped up and screamed, "HE LIKES ME!!!!!!!"  
  
"Who?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"Oh no... Yuffie why did you just say that?" Aerith whined.  
  
"What's going t—" Yuffie started, but was interrupted by Kairi.  
  
"The most GORGEOUS, HANDSOME, NICEST, MOST AWESOMEST guy in the WORLD likes me! THE SKY LOVES ME!!!" cried Kairi.  
  
"Sorry Aerith" muttered Yuffie.  
  
"Yeah, I did the same thing..." whispered Aerith.  
  
"He's SO nice. Such a nice name too! He's smart, funny, and did I mention he was gorgeous?" Kairi continued.  
  
"Yes, I believe you did. Anyhow, dinner is served." Aerith replied, which finally shut Kairi up.  
  
"Hey Yuffie, you should check out the quiz. Aerith found out that Cloud liked her, so I guess it's pretty accurate." Kairi said, handing the magazine to her.  
  
"Honestly, Kairi. Do you THINK I have anyone to quiz about?" Yuffie retorted, handing back the magazine.  
  
"Aw come on, you must like SOMEBODY" coaxed Kairi.  
  
"No one" was Yuffie's simple reply.  
  
"Okay" shrugged Kairi, "I'll just put it in your room if you decide otherwise." and went back to their delicious pasta.  
  
Sighing, Yuffie sat down on her bed to dry her hair. She had just taken a shower. The quiz was staring accusingly up at her. "Alright, you win" Yuffie grumbled to the quiz.  
  
Q: Is he especially nice to you?  
  
Yuffie quickly scribbled a no. 'Squall nice? That's like an oxymoron...' Yuffie thought.  
  
The list went on and on. Yuffie quickly read the results.  
  
"Either he really hates you, or he's playing hard-to-get. Don't go hopping for joy though; guys usually don't play hard-to-get. Back off, stop being so annoying, and maybe he'll like you, but only as a friend. He hates you. Take your chances on another guy."  
  
Yep, according to Girl's Life, Squall hated her. Yuffie almost cried. I mean, what did she ever do to him? 'Focus Yuffie' she thought, 'your life does not focus around this one perverted guy'. Taking a few deep breaths, she got up and started studying for the math test next week, the science test on Friday, and that research paper on this famous astronomer dude named Copernicus.  
  
"There's a dance tonight" announced Kairi during breakfast, "Aerith's going with Cloud, and I'm going with Sora. You need to find a date, Yuffie."  
  
"I do not!" retorted Yuffie indignantly, "I have too much homework anyways"  
  
"You are going to this dance, Yuffie" Kairi commanded.  
  
"Fine..." Yuffie grumbled. Once Kairi made up her mind, there was no stopping her from achieving it.  
  
"Find a date by lunch or else you're going with Squall" Kairi replied. Yuffie felt a tinge of hope in her heart. Squall wanted her to go with him?  
  
"Yeah, I heard Sora also made the same command to Squall" said Aerith. Yuffie felt her heart plummet to the ground. Yuffie grabbed her backpack and headed out.  
  
"Hey where ya going?" asked Kairi.  
  
"To find a date" replied Yuffie. She was NOT going with Squall even if she had to go with the dorkiest guy in the school.  
  
"Hey watch it!" a tall silver-headed guy that Yuffie didn't know said when she accidentally bumped into him. 'He's pretty cute...' Yuffie thought, and automatically turned on the flirtly side of her.  
  
"Sorry. What's your name?" she said, flipping her hair.  
  
"Sephiroph." he said, staring at her. Or rather, her hair. "wanna go to the dance with me tonight?" he asked.  
  
Yuffie smiled, "Sure!" she replied.  
  
Yuffie rushed to Aerith and Kairi during lunch.  
  
"You found one?" asked Kairi.  
  
"Yep." Yuffie said, giggling.  
  
"What's his name?" asked Aerith.  
  
"Sephiroph. Guy with silver hair. Pretty tall." Yuffie described.  
  
"Oh my!" said Aerith worrily."  
  
"What's wrong with going out with the most popular guy in the school?" Kairi asked Aerith.  
  
"It's just that... Cloud and Sephiroph has been arch enemies since middle school, and of course Squall hates him too. He used to go after me a lot..." muttered Aerith.  
  
"Aw Aerith! What am I going to do?" wailed Yuffie.  
  
"Nevermind. Just go out with him. It doesn't matter... that was long past. Maybe since he's going out with you they'll patch up." Aerith said hopefully.  
  
"I hope nothing goes wrong..." Yuffie said fearfully.  
  
It was 7:25. Cloud and Sora were already there. So was Squall. He was going to go to the dance alone, unless Yuffie's date didn't come. 'Oh God, please let him come!' Yuffie thought.  
  
"So who's your date tonight?" asked Cloud again.  
  
"For the 52nd LAST TIME, I'm not telling!" Yuffie said mysteriously.  
  
The bell rang. Yuffie opened the door. A tall, slender silver-haired man walked in. "Hello. May I escort the Lady Yuffie to the dance?" he said.  
  
"You!" Cloud snared. Squall looked as if he was going to kill Sephiroph.  
  
"Yes me." Sephiroph said. Turning to Yuffie he asked, "And why are THEY here? No matter, I don't want this to spoil your night."  
  
Aerith looked helplessly at Cloud. "Cloud, that was a long time ago. Forget it!" she cried.  
  
"Only for today..." Cloud snarled. They walked out the door.  
  
"You look stunning" commented Sephiroph to Yuffie.  
  
"Why thank you." Yuffie replied. She wore a dark green dress that looked very much like Aerith's pink one. ((A/N: Picture the outfit that Aerith always wears. Now turn it green. Tada!))  
  
Evanescence's Everybody's Fool blared through the speakers.  
  
"I love this song!" squeaked Yuffie, and soon Sephiroph and she were dancing.  
  
Yuffie noticed Squall watch in the distance, and a bubble of happiness exploded inside her. 'Wait, I'm over Squall' she coached herself.  
  
After a few more drinks, Yuffie was completely drunk and making out with Sephiroph. ((A/N: As much as I love Sephiroph, the mental image I'm receiving is not pretty))  
  
She was making out with him. Squall couldn't believe it. Before he knew it, he had knocked Sephiroph down and severely bashing him with a beer bottle. People screamed. Yuffie just looked at him.  
  
"Why'd you do that? I was having a goooooooooooooooooooooood time!" Yuffie said groggily.  
  
"I'm taking you back to your dorm" said Squall, and dragged her out of the room. Fumbling through Yuffie's purse, Squall found the keys and opened the door. Finding Yuffie's room was quite easy, since the other two doors were closed and noises could be heard from inside them. He plopped Yuffie on her bed and decided to sleep on the couch in her room.  
  
Barney's favorite song blared through two mini speaker phones.  
  
"DAMN IT!" screamed Squall, and shut the alarm before Yuffie could reach it.  
  
"My head hurts. And why are you here?" asked Yuffie.  
  
"Because." replied Squall simply.  
  
"JUST TELL ME WHY YOU'RE HERE!!!!!!!" Yuffie shrieked. It was a surprise that Kairi and Aerith didn't come running.  
  
"No, I brought you here because it looked like you were ready to loose your virginity. The least you can do is be thankful, but I guess an undeserving, worthless brat like you is too special to say thank you, you shallow girl." Squall replied angrily, nostrils flaring.  
  
Yuffie felt anger rising in her. "Well how was I supposed to know? I was drunk. You are so mean!" Yuffie cried, tears staining her cheeks.  
  
"You know what? I'm over you. I might have liked you, but now I know how much of a worthless brat you are and you just aren't worth it." Squall snorted, leaving.  
  
Yuffie felt terrible. Squall had saved her and the only thing she could do is pout. And he finally admitted liking her too, but then crushed whatever hope was left. 'I am never going to trust magazines ever again.' thought Yuffie gloomily. She fell back to her bed just lying there, thinking.  
  
"Yuffie?" said a voice. It was Aerith. Yuffie ignored her. "Yuffie!" the voice bothered her again.  
  
"Go away..." Yuffie groaned, rolling over.  
  
"I heard what happened..." Aerith whispered.  
  
"What'd he do? Tell the whole school?" Yuffie said sarcastically.  
  
"Actually... we heard."  
  
"And did absolutely nothing? Oh, what great friends YOU are."  
  
"Yuffie..."  
  
"Go away."  
  
"Well, I'll leave some chicken noodle soup outside incase you're hungry."  
  
Staring out in the space never seemed so fun...  
  
A/N: So how was that? That was dedicated to my first reviewer ever! ria- aeon-hunter You rock! Oh, and I really really really really need ideas for Riku's girlfriend... R&R! Peace. Bee 


	3. Healing and Tearing

Life As It Is  
  
Chapter 3 – Healing and Tearing  
  
A/N: The next chapter! Rating has gone UP because of cursing to PG-13 and it's not gunna get higher. (seriously, I'm only 13). I'm starting to love this story. I just don't want Squall to be a meanie... and Riku has found his girl. ((winks)) she'll show up somewhere in this chappie. I got the idea from my totally awesome reviewers. Oh, and Riona (you know, Squall's girlfriend from FFVIII) will be in this chapter. WARNING: SERIOUS RIONA- BASHING. This chapter is mainly going to be C/A and S/K fluffy, some plot, and the beginning of L/Y fluffiness. R&R everybody!  
  
Dedicated to: A friend that's moving away. Notice the self-esteem butterfly reference? that's him  
  
ria-aeon-hunter: You're the best! Thanks for reviewing again. I took some of your tips for Riku's girlfriend. Her name is ((whispers in ear)).  
  
hikari15candals: Every time you see Sorina, replace it with Hikari. ((winks)), but Riku's MINE!!! lol j/k. What does hikari mean? If you want I COULD add you to the story... do you mind being a kitty? I like the name.  
  
himaco: the amber-hair idea was nice, and yes, she's gunna be independent  
  
madcow863: the magicy, evily part's for you. like the twist so far? gunna be more later  
  
fanficlvr: Thanks, but I'm not going to involve FFX characters here... but I like your RikkuRiku suggestion! Hope you like this new chappie.  
  
MoonFlow-Kairi: I'm going to continue it! Thanks!  
  
Disclaimer: O.O Guess what? I own kingdom hearts! That's why I'm writing a fanfic about it, not a sequel-game to it! And I love the Barney song SOOO much that I own that too! rolls eyes I actually DO own an Evanescence CD...  
  
"I love you, you love me" sang the alarm clock. "At least you love me" said Yuffie, slamming the off button. Opening the door, she saw that the chicken noodle soup was still there. "Better cold breakfast than any." Yuffie grumbled, and gulped down the soup.  
  
"Yuffie dear, do you want any breakfast?" asked Aerith when Yuffie entered the living room.  
  
"Already got some" she replied, tossing Aerith the empty bowl from her chicken noodle soup and ran out the door.  
  
"It's Sunday, where's she going with her backpack?" said Aerith worriedly.  
  
"Somewhere. You know Yuffie. She knows how to take care of herself" replied Kairi, reading Vogue.  
  
Yuffie ran out, smelling the sweet, crisp autumn air. Sighing, she looked at the campus map.  
  
GYM. 'That's where I'm going.' she thought, 'Time to take the life out of some punching bags'. But then again, Squall might be there. She looked again.  
  
Cafeteria. Too many people.  
  
Library. Too boring. She looked over the list of clubs.  
  
Chess club. Stupid figures. Can never figure out which does what  
  
Pottery Club. The last time she made pottery it ended up all over her t- shirt and her "pot" looked like a rock. "Looks like there's no where I can go besides the library." she thought, and drearily headed towards it.  
  
"Welcome to the library. I will be your personal librarian today, Ms..." an old man said.  
  
"Yuffie. Just Yuffie. And your name is?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"Cid. Name's Cid." Just then a cat clawed him. "DAMN YOU STUPID CAT!" cursed Cid.  
  
"Okay... someone needs to wash their mouth out with lotsa soap and water" said Yuffie, backing away. As she backed away, she tripped over a chair. "DAMN YOU STUPID CHAIR!" she cursed.  
  
"Hey looks like we're da same." said Cid, grinning.  
  
Whispering, Yuffie replied, "Are we going to get in trouble?"  
  
"On Sunday? No way. No one's ever here." snorted Cid.  
  
Yuffie reached over to pet the silver-furred, blue eyed kitty. "What's his name?"  
  
"Her name is Hikari." he said, "but don't let the gender fool ya. She's one hell of a kitty."  
  
Yuffie straightened up, smiled, and said, "Since you're going to be my personal librarian, how about being my personal tutor?"  
  
"Depends on what subject" he said.  
  
"Love life?" she asked, face falling.  
  
"Aw poor girl. Who is it?" he asked.  
  
"Just... a guy..." she replied, "The MEANEST guy in the world."  
  
"Let me guess." said Cid, "Leon?"  
  
"How'd you know?" Yuffie asked, surprised.  
  
"You don't want to know HOW many girls run in here crying because they asked him out and he said no." stated Cid.  
  
"What?! I did NOT ask him out!" Yuffie said indignantly.  
  
"Then why er ya cryin over him?" he said, lighting a cigar. Or rather, trying to light a cigar. Before he knew it, Yuffie had stamped out his cigar.  
  
"No smoking here! I cough a lot and you don't want me to die of second hand smoking, old man. Have you ever seen those commercials?" she said crossly.  
  
"Okay... okay... so answer my question."  
  
"that's none of your B-I- business. So can you tutor me in math?" Yuffie asked, swinging her legs up on a stool.  
  
"No." said Cid, "The only thing I know are the parts to any WWII plane."  
  
"Wow you ARE old, old man." Yuffie replied, laughing.  
  
"Not as old as your teeth look" retorted Cid, fixing his headband.  
  
Yuffie blushed and said, "I felt bad today, okay?" and bent down to finish a persuasive essay on school uniforms.  
  
"Hey kid" Cid said a while later, "It's 12 and I gotta kick you out for lunch."  
  
"Okay." Yuffie replied, packing her stuff away, "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Cid!" and skipped out the door. Right into Squall.  
  
"Watch it, kid." he said gruffly.  
  
"Hey it's Yuffie!" said Cloud, stopping, "Aerith was getting worried about you." Squall also stopped.  
  
"Well tell her not to worry." said Yuffie, getting up.  
  
"Where were you?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Talking to Cid" she replied.  
  
"The old man?" Cloud said, laughing.  
  
"Hey Cloud, I'm going to take off. Riona's over there." Squall said, ignoring Yuffie.  
  
"Okay bye Squall. Have fun." Cloud said, almost bursting with laughter.  
  
"Do you want me to get started on Aerith, Cloud?" said Squall in a venom- sweet voice. Cloud stopped laughing.  
  
"Good" and with that Squall walked off.  
  
"Who's Riona?" asked Yuffie innocently.  
  
"That girl in the blue jacket over there. She's Squall's girlfriend." Cloud informed her, "Now let's get lunch. I'm hungry. Aerith said she's cooking today, so we're going back to the dorm." Yuffie, watching Squall and Riona, followed Cloud to her dorm.  
  
As soon as Cloud entered the room, Aerith swooped over and kissed him. 'Sick lovebirds' Yuffie thought, slipping past them. Sora, Kairi, and Riku were already there. Yuffie noticed that there was an extra chair. 'Probably for Squall.' she thought. Aerith also noticed.  
  
"Hey where's Squall?" Aerith asked.  
  
"With his girlfriend Riona." Cloud said in a disgusted voice. Sora gagged, and Aerith scrunched up her nose. Apparently Riona wasn't very popular with the rest of Squall's friends.  
  
"Wait, Squall has a girlfriend?" asked Kairi.  
  
"Yeah. His parents set them up. Squall has to go out with Riona or else his parents threaten to kick him out of college. She's so clingy and... abusive." said Aerith.  
  
"What's this? Our perfect Aerith hates someone?" teased Sora.  
  
"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, mock-punching him. "Anyhow, why would his parents force him to do something like that?" she asked.  
  
Cloud answered, "Because Riona's father is the boss of Squall's dad and the only reason his dad makes so much money is because of Squall. Riona wants Squall to be her boyfriend, and her dad actually PAYS for Squall to go out with her."  
  
"Yeah, she's a princess" added Aerith.  
  
"Why didn't you bring YOUR girlfriend?" Sora asked Riku.  
  
"She's busy" Riku responded mysteriously.  
  
"Aw come on, why don't you tell us her name?" coaxed Sora. The door then banged open. Squall entered, with a black eye and a couple of bruises.  
  
"The shower's to your right. You can use my room. It's the one with the pink door" said Aerith.  
  
"Thanks" Squall mumbled.  
  
"See what she does to him?" Cloud whispered. Kairi was clingy to Sora.  
  
"Aw Kairi what's wrong?" Sora asked.  
  
"... n-n-nothing" she stammered.  
  
"Kairi... tell us" he coaxed.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Kairi cried, running to her room.  
  
"What's with her?" Sora muttered.  
  
"You really should go after her" said Aerith.  
  
"Do I? What do I say to her?" asked Sora.  
  
"Boys really are quite clueless, eh? You go and comfort her. And take these stickers. I heard she loves butterflies." said Aerith.  
  
"Thanks" muttered Sora. He looked at the stickers. The stickers were shaped in a butterfly with different designs on them, and on each one it said, "Self-Esteem". Opening the door the Kairi's room, Sora was greeted by what seemed like a gazillion of these stickers on her bedroom walls.  
  
"Kairi, are you alright?" Sora asked, wrapping an arm around her. She sniffled.  
  
"It's just that... that reminded me of my old dad..." she whimpered.  
  
"These are for you" Sora said, handing her the stickers.  
  
"Aw how sweet of you." she said, kissing him on the cheek and got up to post them on her wall, "These always made me feel better. My mom used to get them for me."  
  
"What about now?" Sora asked.  
  
Her face fell. "She's dead. My dad's in prison, and I'm an orphan" she stated plainly as she could. Sora gaped. Before he knew it Kairi was sobbing, head on his lap. After a few more minutes, she whispered, "Let's go back outside. But open the door quietly. I want to see if they've been spying on us", smile back on her face. Sora laughed. They crept up, opened the door, and sure enough four bodies crashed into Kairi's room.  
  
"What are you doing?" Kairi asked, putting on her best innocent-face look.  
  
"We... er... saw a big bug on your wall and decided to kill it." lied Yuffie.  
  
"Yeah, you wanted to kill it with a cup" snorted Sora.  
  
"Okay, okay, so we were eavesdropping. Happy now?" said Riku.  
  
"Not really. But that's expected." Kairi giggled, "Come on. Let's go check on Leon."  
  
"Yeah." mumbled Yuffie, blushing.  
  
"Hey, where can I get more of these stickers?" Sora whispered to Aerith.  
  
Giggling, Aerith whispered back, "On Self-Esteem brand clothing. I'll take you shopping someday"  
  
"Greeeeeeeat" said Sora sarcastically.  
  
Kairi entered the room to hear Squall groaning loudly.  
  
"Aw come one you big baby." Aerith said, and cast a healing spell.  
  
"Wow, what was that?" Yuffie and Kairi both exclaimed.  
  
"You've never seen magic before?" asked Aerith.  
  
Wrapping his arms around Aerith, Cloud said, "My little Airy-poo here is one of the few people in the world with healing abilities. It's passed from generation to generation."  
  
Leon got up and touched his scar. "Many people have magical abilities. They just never discovered them." he said.  
  
"It took Sq, er, Leon, Sora, and Cloud quite a while to find their abilities Sora had to be almost killed by a dog before he found his." Riku slightly mocked. Sora blushed nervously, looking at Kairi.  
  
"Well at least I have a girlfriend that I'm proud of" Sora retorted, hugging Kairi. Kairi giggled happily. Yuffie felt a stab of jealousy, much like the one she felt when she saw Cloud and Aerith together.  
  
"I am proud of her!" Riku stated, nostrils flaring, much unlike the usual calm, collect Riku.  
  
"Riku. This is not worth it." warned Leon, but Riku had already started beating Sora up.  
  
"RIKU! You don't want to summon it!" shrieked Aerith. Cloud went over and pulled Riku off of Sora.  
  
"Oh... sorry..." muttered Riku, but still had a dangerous glint in his eye.  
  
"Sora" he exclaimed, "I'll show you I'm proud of her." Looking around to the group, he said, "Meet me at McDonalds." and with that he left.  
  
Putting her hand to her forehead, Aerith exclaimed, "At least he didn't summon it." Leon, Cloud, and Sora nodded. But they were wrong. Very wrong.  
  
"So what's this summoning thing?" asked Yuffie at McDonalds. They were waiting for Riku and his girl.  
  
"I'll tell you back in the dorm. This is definitely not the place to discuss it. Let's just try to have a good time, okay?" said Aerith.  
  
Soon, Riku entered with a girl. All the other guys who didn't have girlfriends (and some who did) stared. She was gorgeous. She had smokey grey eyes, dark, ruby-red hair layered to her shoulders, and was tall. Almost as tall as Riku. Aerith waved. Smiling, he walked over.  
  
"Hi guys, meet Sorina ." he said.  
  
"Hi" she mumbled shyly, sitting down next to Riku.  
  
Yuffie was the first the break the spell. "Hi! My name's Yuffie. That's Kairi, Sora, Cloud, Aerith, and Squall."  
  
"Leon" growled Squall.  
  
Sora kept on staring at her. "I know you from somewhere" he said.  
  
"No, I don't think so..." Sorina said.  
  
"She doesn't go to school here" Riku stated.  
  
"Do you tell everyone that?" mumbled Sorina .  
  
"What's wrong with saying that?" Riku asked, eyes blazing.  
  
"Riku, are you okay?" Sorina asked worriedly. Riku was a strong, silent type. Quiet, and hard to anger. Someone who would not get angry over such as small thing.  
  
"Of course I am!" he exclaimed, slapping her.  
  
Sorina gasped. She slapped him back, which seemed to knock him back to his senses.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Sorina..." he whispered.  
  
"Riku! You cannot get angry! We won't get so lucky next time!" Sorina reprimanded.  
  
"I don't think we were so lucky the first time" whimpered Riku.  
  
"What's up with them?" asked Yuffie.  
  
"Just shut up." Squall snapped.  
  
"Oh my, look at the time." Aerith said, "Cloud and I have to go see an opera. Bye you guys!"  
  
"Sora and I need to go too. We're seeing a movie." Kairi said.  
  
"I'm going to take Riku back to his dorm" Sorina said, and with that dragged Riku out the door. Only Yuffie and Leon were up.  
  
"Listen, sorry about yesterday" whispered Yuffie.  
  
"I don't want to hear it" Squall said and got up.  
  
How can Squall be so mean? She even apologized. Yuffie rushed after him. "What's the matter with you?" she demanded.  
  
"Nothing that you need to know!" he yelled at her.  
  
"Is it about Riona?" she asked, praying that it would attract his attention.  
  
He stared at her, blazing eyes bore into hers. Finally, he grabbed her and pushed her into his car and looked around.  
  
"What are you looking for?" she asked.  
  
"Microphones bugging this conversation" he stated simply.  
  
"Oh" she replied.  
  
"So who told you about Riona?" he asked, content that they weren't being bugged.  
  
"Your friends" she said, "Tell me about her."  
  
"Why? You have no right to know" he said, annoyed, but at least the fiery was gone from his eyes.  
  
"I don't get it. Aerith told me that she'll tell me... it's so confusing" Yuffie tried on her best convincing voice possible.  
  
"When we get to my apartment. I owe Aerith one." he stated, "But from now on, shut up."  
  
Yuffie sighed. "Can you at least turn on the music?"  
  
Growling, Squall said, "I guess I'll start telling you the story here." Evanescence's whole album was played, to be followed by Linkin Park's Numb and In the End. Sighing, Yuffie leaned back in her seat. This was going to be a long night.  
  
A/N: What's going to happen? What did Riku summon? What do these songs have to do with Squall? When will the Squiffiness start? When will I stop asking questions? Now. ((giggles shrilly)). I hope ya all enjoyed it. This is 7 pages, with 10 size font and times new roman. It's the most I ever written, so R&R!!! All reviewers get to see a picture of a squirrel I drew. If you reviewed my story, you get your name on it. Tell me if I missed any of you. You can save it, say its ugly, print it on a gazillion pages, post it on your siggy (like on gaia). JUST DON'T GO SAYING IT'S YOURS!!! I know it may look ugly... but I slaved long hours on it. You CAN direct link... it's going to be the only way 'cause I'm going to be adding names onto it constantly (well I hope at least)... It's on my author thingy under homepage. I can't really think of anything else to give out... well hope ya liked it! And for all you Riona lovers, TOO BAD!! Actually, I'll make her good in the end. I like her too much. Now I need the song lyrics to Linkin Park's Numb... 


	4. The Story

A/N: Oh my gosh I love you guys! I haven't gotten a single flame yet ((rapidly knocks on wood)), so I guess I'm doing this right. Okay, this chapter's going to be mostly Squall taking and flashbacks... Yuffie's like watching a movie-thingy when Squall's talking. Yuffie can see the flashback, got it? Good. Here we go!  
  
This chapter is dedicated to hikari15candals. You really helped me on my English homework! We were doing creative writing, and I used Hikari as the main character. ((winks)). I would also dedicate this to ria-aeon-hunter because I also used Ria, but you can't be dedicated twice (yet). -- But then I would also dedicate this to all my reviewers...  
  
ria-aeon-hunter: Here's the next one! Lets see if you're the first review this time.   
  
hikari15candals: I got the song lyrics, but I would like that song Hikari! I love her Simple and Clean song! ((sings)) thankie!  
  
fanficlvr: there's a new picture now. lets see if it reminds you of something ((grins))  
  
BroncosCheer-literofpepsy: I AM I AM I AM  
  
himaco: right now! thanks ((blushes))  
  
madcow863: thanks so much for the lyrics! ((hugs))  
  
angel-yuripa: I got the lyrics from madcow863, thanks though. And I'm glad you liked it!  
  
DarkFlame666: ((giggles)) Hope ya like this new chappie  
  
Disclaimer: I own the math homework I'm doing. Nothing else, I swear! All the characters in this story belongs to Kingdom Hearts (those bastards lol j/k) except Sorina. She's MINE! And a part of my reviewers... but... well I would like you to ask me before you use her... all my reviewers who helped already got their permission . They are: ria-aeon-hunter, hikari15candals, himaco, and fanficlvr. And the songs are either Evanescence's or Linkin Park's.  
  
I've become so numb  
  
I cant feel you there  
  
I've become so tired  
  
so much more aware  
  
I'm becoming this  
  
all I want to do  
  
is be more like me  
  
and be less like you  
  
"Cant you see that you're smothering me holding too tightly afraid to lose control" Yuffie sang along, "These are some of my favorite songs! What does it have to do with you?" she asked.  
  
Squall scowled. "Just listen carefully to the lyrics. You don't want me to crash, don't you?"  
  
Yuffie sighed. This man was impossible. They stopped outside of a fancy apartment building.  
  
"Hikari!" Squall called to the backseat of the car. Hikari? Wasn't that Cid's cat? A silver cat streaked up and landed in Squall's lap. "Hikari, you know what to do." he said, patting it on its head.  
  
"Hey, isn't that Cid's cat?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"Naw, she's mine. Cid takes care of her during the day time." he replied fondly.  
  
"What's she doing?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"Checking to see if Riona's there..." Squall whispered. Hikari streaked back, purring. "Yep, she's gone. Let's go in." Squall said, picking up Hikari. Yuffie nodded. Squall quickly slid the key into the door and opened it.  
  
The apartment was GORGEOUS. There was a beautiful dining room, a luxurious living room, but it was nothing compared to the bedroom. Ruby-red canopy, fluffy bed sheets, hug pillows accented the large bed. Gold trimmings were everywhere. Yuffie didn't like it though. It felt... bare... unlived in. Yuffie stole a glance at Squall. Icy blue eyes stared into the space. What was it... Yuffie had never seen that expression on Squall's face before. It was a mixture of anger... and... fear. Something that Yuffie thought Squall would never show.  
  
"Well, come on. We don't have all day." said Squall, motioning her towards the dining table, "Do you want anything?"  
  
"A Sprite Remix, please." Yuffie replied, watching Squall as he got up to get her drink.  
  
"Now, where do you want me to start?" he asked.  
  
"From the beginning" Yuffie said eagerly.  
  
"From the beginning? That's going to take a long time. I'll start with how I met Riona. I was 10..."  
  
flashback  
  
"What's the matter?" Squall asked a girl with long, black hair.  
  
"Mamma and papa said they were going to come back... they were only going to the store" the girl sobbed, "But they never came back..."  
  
"Aw don't be sad, orphanage life isn't too bad" Squall said cheerfully, "What's your name?"  
  
"Riona..." she whispered, "What's yours?"  
  
"Squall!" he said proudly.  
  
"Doesn't that mean storm or something?" Riona asked, giggling.  
  
"Yep! 'cause I'm going to grow up big and strong!" he said, laughing, pulling her out the door.  
  
"Where are we going?" she asked.  
  
"Matron's taking us to the beach today! It's going to be fun! We make S'mores and Selphie always gets it all over her face." Squall said.  
  
"Hey Squall! We're making S'mores! Come on!" a blond kid said.  
  
"Okay Tidus! But first you have to meet Riona!" Squall shouted back.  
  
end flashback  
  
"Wow... she seemed... so... nice..." Yuffie whispered.  
  
"Yeah. After that we were officially a "couple"" Squall said, spacing out a bit.  
  
"What happened next?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"It was probably the best time I had in my life..."  
  
flashback  
  
"Squall... when you're 18 what do you expect to do?" Riona asked.  
  
"Go get a job, of course." Squall said.  
  
"What job?" Riona persistently asked.  
  
"I... it seems impossible... but... I want to go to school. Get a degree. LEARN something. Then I'll get a job."  
  
"Then... what?"  
  
"I'll marry you, of course." Squall said, kissing her on the forehead.  
  
end flashback  
  
"You were going to MARRY her?" Yuffie cried in disbelief.  
  
"She was nice back then... even YOU admit it" Squall said coldly.  
  
"What made her bad?"  
  
"Her mom..."  
  
flashback  
  
"Hey Squall, come look! A limo's here!" Riona called.  
  
"What? A LIMO came?" Squall replied, hurrying to her side in disbelief.  
  
"My mom..." she whispered.  
  
"Your mom? What?" Squall asked, confused. The bell rang. Matron quickly came and opened it.  
  
"Hi. I am Riona's father. I am here to pick her up." a snotty-looking woman said simply.  
  
"WHAT?" yelled Squall, but Riona was already hugging her father. "MOMMY!" she shrieked happily, "You came and got me!"  
  
"Yes dear, now lets leave" her mom said. Riona looked at Squall. "I want him, Mommy." she said, pointing at Squall.  
  
"Okay. I'll set up one of my friends to adopt him. Then he's all yours." her mom said.  
  
"WHAT? I'm not your play thing!" Squall yelped. A few days later, a man came and adopted Squall.  
  
end flashback  
  
"Wow..." Yuffie said, "What a slap in the face"  
  
"She really used me..." he whispered. Yuffie could tell he was getting close to crying. "Well, here I am. I am to do Riona's bidding at all times, even worse than Hikari here." A single tear dropped onto his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, but Yuffie saw.  
  
"Squall..." she whispered, walking over to him.  
  
"It's Leon..." he muttered while she hugged him. Yuffie felt a pair of strong arms around her, shirt getting slightly damp from his tears. "I don't think I can love anymore, Yuffie..." he whispered.  
  
"MERROW!" Hikari yowled.  
  
A/N: Okay, sorry it's so short guys... I think I have the dreaded writer's block groans. I can't decide if I want them to manage to escape or let Riona catch them. You don't know HOW many times I've rewritten the ending to this... so I just ended up deleting it. You faithful reviewers get to choose! YAY! And I'm probably going to be updating more cause summer's starting in a week! WOOT!!!!!! Oh, and I got rid of the squirrel. Just too too fuzzy... got up a kitty though! Though not exactly Hikari... I'll show Hikari to you guys next time. Well ttfn and R&R!!!!!! rawr 


	5. LockPicking

Life As It Is  
  
Chapter 5 – Lock-Picking  
  
A/N: I am SO sorry you guys that I haven't updated in a long time! ((cries)) My writer's block seems to still be there... but it has lessened considerably YAY IT'S SUMMER!!! That means I'll probably update more, but then I'll go on hiatus for vacation. Okay, for this chappie... there's probably going to be some humor, I think I may fit in some squiffiness in this chapter. If not, it's probably coming next chapter. Um... and ninjas are quite good at lock-picking ((winks)) Hm... this chapter will have some views from Riku and Sorina's viewpoints to move the plot. And... um... that's it. Now read!  
  
This chapter is dedicated to my friend Lia. Sadly, I was getting quite depressed with fanfiction because all of my other friends say they're stupid and uninteresting. Lia actually agreed with me that fanfiction is like AWESOME! So now I'm back. None of my friends know that I actually write fanfiction though... writing tells people a lot about you (well in my opinion) and I don't really like them knowing all about me... that's why I love you guys! ((hugs all my readers))  
  
ria-aeon-hunter – ((giggles)) You're first again! Don't worry, they're going to escape. ((smiles evilly))  
  
hikari15candals – Hehe the kitty's going to help lots later on. Don't worry, send it to me if you have time. ((nods)) I can't wait to hear it though! I was replaying Kingdom Hearts and I saw the intro again. ((drools)) hehe. And that scene when Cloud walks by Sora during the coliseum... ((drools even more))   
  
fanficlvr – Squiffiness either this chappie or next chappie, I dunno how long this fic is going to last, Squall will probably never be free of Riona because she's going to turn into a friend (she's a bit like Riku during the game, good-bad-good), and um... the reason you're asking all these questions is because you feel like it! wo0t! I answered all of your questions! And they'll escape. But since I'm the author... I'm going to torture them a bit first. ((cackles)) Leon: She's freaking me out. Yuffie: Even more than me? Leon: I mean, what's she going to DO with us? Yuffie: Aww it can't be too bad. Leon: Look what she made me into last time! Me: You're wasting my time! Remember, the faster I type the faster you two get through it. Leon: ((growls))  
  
BroncosCheer-literofpepsy – She's coming. She's not there yet. ((pats Hikari)) The kitty never makes mistakes!  
  
DemonSurfer – What's SS? And um... since majority said let them go... I'll make their escape semi-painful so you can enjoy that. ((grins))  
  
zilly – Such a cool name you have! ((gasps)) I'm talking like Yoda! Ah well. He's cool. Thanks! Glad you like this story.  
  
Disclaimer: I'm a 13-year-old girl who's mommy doesn't allow babysitting or any form of work to earn money. Yes I own Kingdom Hearts. ((glares)) On a more serious note, Sorina's mine and Hikari's also mine, so I would appreciate you telling me or something, like in a review or something. I won't say no, of course. ((grins)).  
  
"Squall, why is your cat making that noise?" asked Yuffie. Squall jumped up nervously and eyed Hikari for a moment. Hikari cocked her head questionably at Squall.  
  
"She's here..." he muttered, "You have to get out..."  
  
"You mean we," Yuffie contradicted, hurrying up, "I'm not leaving you with her." Squall sighed. He desperately wanted to escape too, but two of them escaping will cause a lot more noise than one. He wasn't exactly as small and ninja-like as Yuffie.  
  
He shook his head. "No. Go alone. Jump out of the window and hang onto a ledge. There's a motion sensor over there that you'll have to jump over. It's an easy jump to the lamp pole. Then you slid down and you're home free."  
  
"I'm not leaving without you!" said Yuffie indignantly. Suddenly, they heard the door open outside. Squall eyed the wardrobe.  
  
"Quick! Get in there!" Squall said, shoving Yuffie and Hikari in there.  
  
"Squall?" a voice called from the other room. Squall shuddered. It was her. Yuffie took the chance and pulled Squall into the wardrobe in with the rest of them.  
  
Yuffie peaked through the little crack in the wardrobe and saw the raven- haired girl looking around.  
  
"Hm..." Yuffie heard Riona say.  
  
"Squall!" Riona called loudly, but was returned with silence. She smiled and pulled a crystal ball-like object from her purse. "My lordess," she whispered into the orb. A faint fog rose from the orb. It materialized. Yuffie gasped softly. A tall, white-skinned lady appeared in long, black robes. Her black lips frowned down at Riona.  
  
"My lordess, you have arisen!" Riona cried, dropping to her knees.  
  
"About time, too. That Riku-boy was getting on my nerves. He's terribly hard to get angry." the woman said.  
  
"What is my task, my lordess?" Riona asked, bowing down to her.  
  
"Get rid of his friends." the woman said bluntly.  
  
"My lordess, forgive me, but the task..." Riona trembled.  
  
"Do not worry about their magic. They will not use their magic and weapons until it is absolutely necessary. You must use their greatest weakness against them. Do you remember what that is?" the lady answered.  
  
"Forgive me, my lordess..." Riona whimpered, pressing her forehead to the cold ground.  
  
"It is love. Love is nothing. Remember that, young apprentice. Sephiroph will be working with you. Do not rely on him! He has not completely submitted to the darkness yet." the woman said cruelly.  
  
"Yes, my lordess. But who must I destroy first?" Riona asked, head still bowed.  
  
"Take out that brown-haired boyfriend of yours. He nearly destroyed me once. Besides, Riku looks up to him. And since he's your obedient boyfriend, a little slip of poison down his throat should be enough."  
  
Yuffie trembled, tugging on a motionless Squall.  
  
"Yes, my lordess." Riona replied.  
  
"Good. You will be greatly rewarded. After they have been killed, I, the Dark Lordess, shall rule the world!" and with that the lady disappeared once more. Riona stood up, dusted herself off, and picked up the phone. A voice from Riona's purse said, "Do not use the phone! The police will spread the news, and his friends will know. Go walk there. You know where his house is." Riona nodded and walked out the front door. Yuffie sighed with relief. Now they can get out! She pushed against the wardrobe doors. They didn't budge. Squall groaned as Yuffie accidentally stepped on him.  
  
"Yuffie, did you even wonder WHY I didn't want to hide in the wardrobe with you guys?" Squall asked, not budging.  
  
"No..." Yuffie said, pushing against the door, "Hey Squall how do I get the door open?"  
  
"It's locked. It automatically locks from the outside." he said, sighing.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me that?" Yuffie said indignantly.  
  
"It was too late. She was here." he said simply.  
  
"Now what do we do?" Yuffie asked. Squall sighed.  
  
"I don't know..." he said. Hikari climbed into his lap, purring. If only she had a hairpin or something... Yuffie thought. Hikari brushed her whiskers lightly against Yuffie's legs. That's it! Hikari's whiskers were as tough as a hairpin. She bent down and picked up Hikari.  
  
"Hikari-dear, this'll hurt a bit..." she said, reaching down and plucking a whisker from off of Hikari. Hikari stood absolutely still, like she knew this was important and understood what Yuffie was up to.  
  
"What are you doing?" Squall asked.  
  
"Lock-picking" Yuffie replied, sticking the whisker here and there. There was a snap, and the door opened. Yuffie tumbled out, did a somersault and stood up. Squall carefully climbed out, Hikari around his neck.  
  
"Where'd you learn that?" he asked, motioning her to follow him. Yuffie walked behind him as he opened the window. She smiled mysteriously.  
  
"You know the special magical thingy that you guys all have? Well, so do I. I've got ninja blood," she said, nodding, and proceeded to trip over the carpet.  
  
"I thought ninjas were... graceful," Squall sneered.  
  
"Hey! You owe me one!" Yuffie said indignantly. Squall glared at her for a while, and then climbed out the window onto a ledge. The escape route was actually quite easy for the both of them.  
  
"Now what do we do?" Yuffie asked. Squall eyed the narrow alleyway.  
  
"I'm going sleep," he said.  
  
"Where?" she asked.  
  
"There," he said, pointing at a tree.  
  
"Why don't you go to the dorm?" she asked.  
  
"I don't live there. Sora and Cloud live there." he answered.  
  
"Riku doesn't either?" she asked, remembering the conversation that she had just eavesdropped on.  
  
"Can't you ever shut up?" he asked, eyeing her angrily.  
  
"Can't you ever listen?" she retorted, "So why not the hotel?"  
  
"Her dad owns it," he said, starting to climb into the tree.  
  
"If it suits you," she said, and started to pick on a car lock.  
  
"Don't do that!" Squall said, but it was too late. Yuffie had just chosen to hack into one of Riona's cars. The one with if you didn't turn off the alarm the police would come. The sirens could already be heard in the distance...  
  
(A/N: Nope it's not over yet! Now we zoom in on Riku... Riku: ((looks scared)))  
  
"You're mad," Sorina stated, sitting on a swing.  
  
"I know that!" he retorted, glaring at Sorina. She blinked.  
  
Silver hair swishing, he sat down on the sand. He had refused to go back to the dorm, so Sorina had dragged him to the park. "I can't believe my friends! I finally come and they all leave. They're so... annoying. I hate them!" he screamed quietly.  
  
"Riku!" Sorina said, standing up, "Riku! Calm down! We have to be careful. You may have summoned... her... but you must not let her control you! She doesn't know who I am yet..."  
  
Riku stared out into the blackness. "But still... I wonder what's out there. You know, in the dark. It can take me places I'd never dream of going..." he whispered.  
  
Sorina closed her eyes. Memories... the broken promises...  
  
"What's the matter?" Riku asked. Sorina's eyes snapped open. "N-nothing," she replied, trembling.  
  
"Tell me," Riku slowly commanded.  
  
"It's nothing, okay?" Sorina snapped.  
  
"Sorina! Watch yourself!" he replied quickly.  
  
"It's... so... hard," she replied, tears falling.  
  
"I know, I know," he said, walking to her. She threw her arms around him.  
  
"When will this end?" she whispered softly in his ear.  
  
"I... don't know..." he replied.  
  
"Well, well. Look what we've got here..." a voice drawled from beside a tree.  
  
(A/N: Muhahaha more cliffy! Now we zoom in on Yuffie and that car...)  
  
Squall jumped down quickly and grabbed Yuffie. She yelped, but quickly followed him. "There's no where to hide..." Yuffie whispered, "They've got the helicopters, and blocked out both ends of the alley!" Squall knew it was true. They were trapped. Hikari scurried down under a car. Lucky her, she was too short and small to be seen by the police. "Wait! I got it!" Yuffie said triumphantly, and dragged Squall under a car with her. Police never searched low. Squall's breath breathed heavily against her face. The feet of the police walked by her face ever few seconds.  
  
"Nope, must have been a bird or something," she heard one man say.  
  
"Yeah, let's go." another man said, and they left.  
  
"Squall," she whispered, "Get up, they're gone." He didn't respond. "Squall!" she whispered more urgently. He was dead! No, he was breathing... he was asleep? He looked so peaceful... Yuffie smiled. He was sleep. She curled up next to him and soon fell asleep.  
  
(A/N: okay, now let's get in some AerithxCloud-ness. They're at the opera, remember? And I don't think Cloud really likes it... Cloud: Hey! It's YOUR problem you made me to go that opera. Besides, Aerith thought it was cute.)  
  
"Oh, look at her sing! She as a beautiful voice," complimented Aerith.  
  
"Yes, let's watch the fat lady sing!" Cloud said, bored.  
  
"Cloud, please, just watch the opera," Aerith whined. Cloud quieted down. How could anyone resist the begging of Aerith? The intermission came, and Cloud hurriedly got up.  
  
"Where're you going?" asked Aerith.  
  
"Bathroom" he muttered.  
  
"Man, that opera was boring," he heard one man say.  
  
"Yeah, I know... never thought I'd see you here, Cid" said Cloud.  
  
"DAMN the whole thing!" the blonde, old man continued, "But your English teacher dared me to attend one. She bet me 100 bucks! And a free ticket. So here I am."  
  
"INTERMISSION IS OVER!!!" said the doorman.  
  
"But... I haven't gone yet!" said Cloud indignantly.  
  
"What were you doing the whole time?" Cid asked, "This isn't the bathroom, this is the smoking room!"  
  
"Oh," Cloud said dumbly, "No wonder, the men's bathroom never has a line..." and dashed towards the real bathroom. He ran past the women's bathroom and pushed into the men's bathroom. Or at least what he thought was the men's bathroom. Turns out it was another door to the women's restroom. A couple of girls screamed, and an old lady started bashing him with her umbrella.  
  
"Ouch!" Cloud said.  
  
"What are you doing here, young man?" asked the old lady.  
  
"I... I'm here to tell you that the intermission is over!" he lied quickly.  
  
"Oh. Well leave now." said the lady, shooing him away.  
  
"Cloud!" Aerith called, dragging him towards the seats again, "What were you doing in the women's restroom?"  
  
"I... went into the wrong bathroom" he said, flushing.  
  
"Well, did you go?" Aerith asked.  
  
"No..." he whined.  
  
"Well, hold it for another couple of hours then. The opera's starting again." Aerith giggled.  
  
"Great..." drawled Cloud.  
  
(A/N: Okay, let's fast forward time a bit. It's still Cloud and Aerith, except A COUPLE HOURS LATER)  
  
"It's over! Wasn't that wonderful?" asked Aerith to Cloud. Except... where was he? She looked towards the door and saw a flash of yellow.  
  
"I guess I'll meet him in the car..."she said to herself, laughing.  
  
"Well, wasn't that a wonderful show?" asked Aerith, in the car.  
  
"It isn't as wonderful as you," Cloud said, leaning over to kiss her. She giggled and pulled him closer. There was a loud knocking against the window shield and a woman shrieking. Cloud looked up and Aerith quickly composed herself.  
  
"Oh no, it's the old lady again..." he said.  
  
"Where'd you meet her?" Aerith asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.  
  
"The bathroom..." he muttered. Aerith giggled even harder.  
  
"So... where'd you want to go now?" he asked, pulling an arm around her.  
  
"Cloud! Be careful! You know it's dangerous to drive with one hand!" she reprimanded.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he said, and let go.  
  
"How about... we go to my room?" she asked, blushing.  
  
"Your friends..." Cloud said. His cell phone rang. "Hey, Cloud here." It was Squall, "Hey, tell Aerith Yuffie's not coming back to the dorm tonight, okay?" "Why? What did you do to her?" Cloud asked. Squall winced. "Come on, what could I do?" he asked. Wrong question, apparently. "You could..." Cloud rambled on. "Look, she fell asleep and I thought you two might want some alone time so she's at my other place," Squall interrupted, "Bye." and hung up.  
  
Cloud looked over at Aerith. She was also on her cell phone.  
  
"Sora and Kairi's at Sora's place," she said.  
  
"Yuffie's at Squall's place," he said.  
  
"WHAT???!!!" Aerith shouted, a rare event.  
  
"Apparently she fell asleep so Squall took her to his place because he decided we needed some "alone time" continued Squall.  
  
"Aw, how thoughtful," said Aerith, kissing Cloud on the cheek.  
  
"I currently love Squall" said Cloud.  
  
"Hey, I thought you loved me," Aerith said, slapping him a bit.  
  
"Eww, that sounded wrong didn't it?" asked Cloud.  
  
"Yuh-huh" Aerith said cutely.  
  
"Well, you gotta thank him..." he said, parking.  
  
"Come on," Aerith said, leading him to her room.  
  
A/N: Okay, so that last part didn't really end up as I thought it would, but my writer's block is gone! WOOT!!! I think it was Linkin Park's "Breaking a Habit", Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue" and "Hikari" that really got me motivated. hikari15scandals: I found it! The song, I mean. Anyways, so what did I leave you with? A love-dovey scene. But I just had to leave that wonderful little CLIFFY in the middle. ((laffs evilly)) Does anyone know who was Cid's girlfriend in FFVII? I forgot her name... it started with an S or something... and that dark lordess is really mean, ain't she? Makes you feel sorry for Riona a bit... I may be starting something new soon... but this isn't anything near done yet. Thinking of calling it Summer Dreams... but it may not be a fanfic... just a novel, ya know? Well, thanks for reading and don't forget to review! No picture today... I'm trying to find a nice host and hostess for my website... 


	6. Perfect World

Life as It Is  
  
Believe  
  
Normal Text "Person speaking" Thinking. emphasis ((A/N: author's notes))  
  
A/N: I lost some reviews! ((cries)). Give me attention! ((cries like a 2- year-old)). XP Ah well, at least I still have some very faithful reviews. Three's enough to keep me going! I found SO many errors... I want an editor! XP The format's now going to be a little bit different... the review-stuff will be in the END, cause it didn't look too good in the beginning... and I added a summary paragraph, just basically a place where I jot down my ideas for the next chapter... skip it if you want, since there may be some spoilers or things changed... the author notes in the beginning'll probably end... eep I talk too much... I'll shut up now.  
  
Summary: Hm... definitely Squiffieness when we zoom into Squall and Yuffie, something bad's going to happen to Cloud and Aerith, we'll return to that semi-cliffy with Riku and Sorina and turn the tables, basically major plot stuff...  
  
Disclaimer: whines and faints in boredom  
  
Yuffie: clears throat We're having some... technical issues with the disclaimer... so I'll just say it for now. The poor, thoughtful author does not have a licensed agreement with Disney and Squaresoft and does not own the following characters: Me, Squall, Riku...  
  
Squall: Basically she's saying that the author doesn't own anything.  
  
Me: Actually, I own Sorina and Hikari... but ON WITH THE STORY! points forward  
  
This is dedicated to Zilly, who has a completely awesome name! And feels sorry for Riona. ((nods)) ··§· ·§ (A/N: Let's hope the border works this time) "Cloud, turn on the light, will you?" Aerith asked.  
  
"Sure..." Cloud said, quickly turning on the light. Aerith screamed. Cloud quickly turned around and whitened in shock as well.  
  
"What's up? Aw come on, I thought we were friend!" said a black-haired girl, twirling her hair.  
  
"T-t-tifa?" Cloud stammered. The girl gave Cloud a sultry look, letting her gaze sweep over Cloud's body, letting out a low whistle. Cloud felt himself redden. Aerith's reassuring squeeze was all the kept him from running away and hiding in the bathroom. Tifa's gaze now wandered over to Aerith.  
  
"I remember you... you were the little brat and stole my Cloud away from me!" her oily voice accused, "Well, all the better..." she whispered, and with that punched Cloud in the face. Cloud heard Aerith scream before he sunk into darkness...  
  
··§· ·§ Riku quickly turned towards the voice. Sorina quietly stood besides him. A silver-haired man a few years older than Riku appeared.  
  
"You!" Riku said in a disgusted voice.  
  
"Yes, me." the man said impatiently, "And who is this beautiful young lady?" Sorina blushed, despite herself.  
  
"Don't you dare..." Riku spat angrily. He can't be told her name...  
  
"And what's your name, little lady?" Sephiroph asked, ignoring Riku.  
  
Ack! What am I supposed to say? Sorina shivered. "My name is Yuffie," she blabbered.  
  
"Yuffie, eh? Didn't I go to that dance with you?" Sephiroph pressed on.  
  
How am I supposed to know? she thought, and where did Riku go? He must've slipped away... She noticed someone behind Sephiroph nodding his head desperately.  
  
"Yes!" she nodded, thankful that it was dark so he couldn't see her clearly.  
  
"You're cheating on me for this piece of crap? Such an bad girl. Bad girls need punishing," Sephiroph said with an evil grin, taking a step towards her.  
  
Riku! Help! she thought desperately as she took a step back, but as powerful as Riku was, he wasn't a mind reader.  
  
"Oh no you don't, you pervert," Riku snarled vehemently, savagely pouncing on Sephiroph. Sephiroph quickly got up and walked a few feet away.  
  
"My work is done. I know the name of the Prince's girlfriend. And I'll be paying you a visit soon," Sephiroph growled seductively, giving Sorina one last look.  
  
"Thanks," Sorina muttered to Riku a few moments later.  
  
Riku looked around to make sure Sephiroph was gone. "Why did you use one of my friend's name? You may be off the hook now, but SHE'S going to be in for it!"  
  
Sorina sank to the ground. "She's in danger now... I completely forgot!" she confessed, embarrassed.  
  
"Well, the harm's already done. We better go warn Yuffie..." Riku sighed, pulling Sorina off from the ground. ((muhahahaha. Just a twist to put the spotlight on Yuffie...)) ··§· ·§ "Mmmmm" Yuffie groaned, rolling over. She breathed in the peppery smell of her blankets, and smiling happily, snuggled deeper in them. Wait. Her blankets smelled of cinnamon, not pepper! She snapped her eyes open. When did she have black silk sheets? She heard the toilet flush and a second later Squall walked in.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yuffie screamed.  
  
"I see you woke up," Squall said, nodding.  
  
"What happened? Where am I? What day is it? What—" Yuffie said, in a panicky stream of words.  
  
"You fell asleep under the car. You're in the 3-room apartment Riku and I share. Today's Monday. And no, you did not loose your virginity," Squall answered.  
  
"I didn't ask if I lost..." Yuffie searched her brain for the appropriate word, "it... or not!" she rebuked.  
  
"You were going to," Squall said, smiling, silently chuckling at her childlike behavior.  
  
"OH MY GOSH!!!" Yuffie squealed, "Did Squall just SMILE??"  
  
"You better shut up if you want me to do it again," he glared, "And it's LEON, L-E-O-N, not SQUALL, LEON. Care to get it through your thick skull?"  
  
Yuffie pouted a bit and stole a quick glance at Squall. He was facing the balcony in those leather pants again.  
  
"What are you staring at?" Squall asked, turning.  
  
Ew, was I just staring at his butt? thought Yuffie.  
  
"Well?" asked Squall.  
  
"You... er... have a bee in your hair!" she quickly lied.  
  
Yuffie nervously looked at Squall. He wasn't angry! He looked terrified.  
  
"Is it still there?" he whimpered pitifully. Yuffie laughed so hard she fell over the bed.  
  
"What?" Squall said, sulking.  
  
"It's gone," Yuffie said. Squall was so cute when he sulked. "But seriously... a grown man afraid of bees?" Yuffie teased, dissolving into another peal of giggles.  
  
"Hey! I'm highly allergic to bees!" Squall, squatting her lightly on the head, flashing a rare smile.  
  
"Hey, today's Sunday right?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"No... I just told you... today's MONDAY!" Squall sneered, his playful side disappearing.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I'm late for school!" she squealed, jumping off of the bed. Squall caught her quickly by the waist. She flushed slightly.  
  
"Nuh-uh... today's a holiday," he whispered, letting her go.  
  
"Oh. Well, aren't we supposed to celebrate or something?" Yuffie asked, leaning closer towards him. "Gawd he's hot" she though, and surprising Squall and herself, kissed him lightly on the lips. "Oh my gawd, what did I just do?" she thought, blushing furiously, "Now Squall's going to really hate me!" She felt soft lips against hers, returning her kiss, arms wrapping around her. "Squall!" a voice floated into the room, followed by a knock. Squall quickly broke the kiss, whispering, "Who could that be?"  
  
"Squall! It's Riku!" the voice came again.  
  
"Well, that answers your question," Yuffie said, giggling.  
  
"Should we ignore him?" he said, kissing her lightly on the forehead.  
  
"I know you're in there! If you don't, I'll just slam down the door!" Riku's voice commanded.  
  
"Squall, please, just open the door," a silky voice quickly followed Riku's. Squall sighed, and got up. Riku always forgot the keys. Yuffie sat thinking on the bed. What had she done? And did Squall just kiss her back? Shuddering, she sunk back into the sheets.  
  
"Yuffie!" Riku called, barging into the room. Yuffie looked up, surprised. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out.  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" she whined at Riku, but instantly stopped when she saw his grim face.  
  
"What's the matter?" Squall asked, standing behind Yuffie.  
  
"Yuffie's in danger," he articulated clearly.  
  
··§· ·§ Cloud opened his eyes slowly. Where was he? His head hurt painfully, but he couldn't do anything. He was bound to a chair. He looked over next to him. Aerith was there too! She was still asleep though. I have to get out. he thought, struggling against his bounds.  
  
"You can't get out," a voice called from the shadows.  
  
"Tifa! What are you doing here?" Cloud called.  
  
"Me? Shouldn't you be asking what are you doing here?" she said, smiling, looking down at Cloud. Cloud gulped.  
  
"But I thought we were friends... remember, no hard feelings?" he whispered, thinking back.  
  
"No hard feelings? When did I say that?" Tifa asked, disgusted. Aerith moaned slightly in the background, opening her eyes.  
  
"We were just friends, Tifa, remember?" Cloud replied.  
  
"We were more than that before this slut came!" she nearly shouted, tears lightly springing to her eyes. Cloud grew angry. No one talked about his Aerith like that!  
  
"Cloud..." Aerith whispered, noticing his clenched fists. Tifa seemed to have recovered her sense of cool.  
  
"Ah yes..." she continued, "I was sent to ask you two a variety of questions..."  
  
"First of all, who is Riku's girlfriend?"  
  
Aerith smiled. That question was easy. "A girl" she replied. Tifa frowned and touched a button. Aerith felt a shock of electricity flow through her, and grimaced in pain.  
  
"Now... let me rephrase that. What is Riku's girlfriend's name?" Tifa said, smiling cruelly. Suddenly, Sephiroph burst into the room with a smile on his face.  
  
"Tifa!" he said triumphantly, "I got Riku's girlfriend's name! It's Yuff—"  
  
"Shhhh" Tifa shushed him quickly. "Did you hear what he said?" she asked, turning towards Cloud and Aerith.  
  
"I heard something about Riku," Aerith said truthfully. Cloud just nodded, scared that he'll say something else bad.  
  
"Good. As I was saying, what was Riku's girlfriend's name?" Tifa asked. Sephiroph looked at them, sticking his tongue at Cloud, who promptly also stuck out his tongue, and was zapped by Tifa.  
  
"We're never going to tell!" Aerith said defensively, putting up an act.  
  
"We'll see to that..." Tifa sniggered, zapping both of them until their hair stood straight up.  
  
"Her... her name is Yuffie..." Aerith managed to stammer, shivering in pain after being shocked so many times. ··§· ·§  
  
"You did what?" Yuffie and Squall both said at the same time.  
  
"I'm so sorry... I wasn't thinking! Would you please forgive me?" Sorina pleaded.  
  
"I forgive you... I guess..." Yuffie muttered.  
  
"What are we going to do?" asked Squall, after a moment of silence.  
  
"Well... we're going to contact Cloud and Aerith... and hide Yuffie," Riku said, writing some notes down.  
  
"I'll go call Cloud," Squall said, reaching in his back pocket for his cell phone.  
  
((italics is the other person on the phone talking))  
  
"Hello?" an oily voice asked. Screaming could be heard in the background. Squall quickly hung up. "That wasn't Cloud..." he muttered to a silent crowd of 3 people.  
  
"That means they're held captive?" Riku asked.  
  
"Well, there's only one way to check, eh?" Sorina said, grabbing the cell phone from Squall.  
  
"Sorina! Isn't it dangerous?" Riku asked, concerned.  
  
"Honestly! You treat me like I'm this precious baby!" Sorina snapped lightly at Riku.  
  
"What's she going to do?" asked Yuffie naïvely, watching the red-headed girl concentrate on the cell phone. Suddenly, a stream of semi-transparent binary numbers flowed from the cell phone to Sorina's forehead. Shaking her head, she snapped the cell phone closed and handed the phone back to Squall.  
  
"Using the transmitter in the cell phone, I can track wherever that call was placed. Even if it was blocked, I could mess around with the transmitters and get where they were. Since it was Cloud's phone, it wasn't blocked so it was fairly easy to find where they were. Except... it's not... on this world..." Sorina answered.  
  
"You mean..." Riku's eyes widened. Yuffie indignantly stood up, angry that she was getting so confused. Glancing over at Squall, he also gave her a confused shrug.  
  
"Riku! We're ignoring the other two!" Sorina whispered to Riku.  
  
"Ah... sorry guys..." Riku muttered, "As with the other world thing... there are three worlds in all. We're in the middle world. A mixture of the two worlds – this world was never meant to be. That's why most people from this world don't know about the other two worlds... and vice versa. The people who do know about this world call this the perfect world. A perfect balance of good and evil, ying and yang. A few people were granted with magical powers to keep it safe and perfect, so nothing disturbs this balance. The people who have magical powers... like us... are the guardians."  
  
"What about the other two worlds?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"The world above is where me and Riku are from," Sorina continued, "Everything is pure. Not perfect, but pure. We're communist. The purest kind of communist. Everyone is equal, everything is controlled. No freedom. Everyone is content, never happy. Everyone is in love, not madly in love. It's... so stifling..."  
  
"The world below... it's pure anarchy," Squall said, "That's where I'm from. Everything is a mess. You can do whatever you want. It's pure freedom. You want that ice cream? You steal it. You want to kill that person? You killed that person, if you could. The two worlds were once ruled by this sadistic lady called, "The Dark Lordess" who wanted to destroy this perfect world, but she disappeared after Riku's great-grandfather banished her."  
  
"But now she's back and sending her minions to destroy us?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"Not just kill. Completely annihilate us. But first she has to destroy the guardians. As long as our king or queen is standing, she cannot destroy us. It's sort of like a game of chess, except with 2 kings. You can't kill the guardians, only capture. When both kings are gone, it's checkmate." Squall continued. Yuffie got up quickly and looked around.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, "let's go rescue the two guardians!" she said.  
  
"Wait!" Sorina said, "Yuffie, you're now the decoy Queen, and I'll be Squall's girlfriend until this is over, okay?"  
  
"Sure, I guess..." Yuffie muttered, eyeing Squall, who gave her a worried look.  
  
"Well, where do we start?" Squall said impatiently.  
  
"Um... we start with the world below... they're hidden under the pub, shouldn't be too hard, eh?" Riku said, attempting a smile.  
  
"The PUB??!!!" Squall yelled, "That's the most dangerous place IN the underworld! It's HUGE and people are regularly murdered there!" ··§· ·§ "Guess who just called?" Tifa's voice asked a defeated Cloud and Aerith. Cloud just moaned.  
  
"Squall!" Tifa squealed, not waiting for their answer, "He completely bought that I was Aerith! He was SOOOO sad! He said that RIKU and YUFFIE are dead! So that means the king and queen are dead!!!! You guys are hopeless now!" she smiled wickedly.  
  
"You're lying!" Aerith cried.  
  
"Why would I lie about something like that?" Tifa smiled, mentally thinking of all her reasons. Cloud sighed. Tifa smiled inwardly. They were so gullible!  
  
"What are we supposed to do now?" muttered Cloud.  
  
"Well, we WERE going to throw you to the sharks," Tifa motioned towards a tank of sharks, "but we decided against it so now you're just going to hang around here. Oh and here's your food," she continued, handing them a tray of food and untying their hand bounds.  
  
"Riku is dead?" Cloud whispered. Aerith shook her head. "She's lying, I feel his presence" she whispered back at him.  
  
"Well, what do we do?" Cloud asked.  
  
"You dufus! We untie our feet bounds and escape through that air vent," she said, quickly checking to make sure the food wasn't poisonous, and then proceeded to rapidly jam food down her through.  
  
"Well, hurry up then!" Cloud said, after they finished, carefully unscrewing the air vent. ··§· ·§ A/N: Wheee! Some squiffie action! I'm so sorry if Tifa sounds OOC... I don't know her much... give me a tip on how she acts, k? Oh, and what do you guys think about C/A, S/K, and R/OC fluffiness? I can leave it out, since this is mainly L/Y... sorry guys I had camp so I couldn't write... one of my friends at camp was a manga-freek, so she got me into reading DN Angel. It's AWESOME! The only other manga I'd ever read before was Love Hina... and I've seen like ½ of episode of hack.sign, and cowboy bebop last year on vacation. Oh, and I've seen 2 whole episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! I don't have cartoon network OR anime network, so naturally I'm not connected...  
  
Thankies: DemonSurfer: lol hope you don't get your head bashed in! I need your reviews! Sqully: mmm... I updated, does that mean I get a review? ((begs)) zilly: I really love Riona in FFVIII for some reason... maybe she'll appear in KH-2! They're saying that the girl on the beach sorta looks like her... but Yuffie'll always be Squall's. (Yuffie: ((nods quickly)))  
  
Music: Ocean Avenue. They need to play it more on the radio! -- She Will Be Loved. So sweet... I Miss You. But, DO waste your time on me and gimme a review! XP  
  
See that button? Click on it and type a few words in... and instantly make me feel better! V 


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